Did Your Doctor Make the 2014 Top Docs List?

A word from Hudson Valley Editor in Chief, Olivia J. Abel

By Olivia J. Abel

Photograph by Ken Gabrielsen

So, did your doctor make the list? Every year, when we get the Top Doctors list in the office, the entire staff admits that they quickly scan it to see if their physicians have been included in the prestigious ranking. And no wonder: The respected firm of Castle Connolly selects these physicians based on extensive feedback from the doctors’ peers. This year’s list, our biggest ever, includes more than 190 doctors in 48 specialties. If you’re like me, many factors go into choosing a medical professional: a strong educational background, convenience to home or office, sometimes a recommendation from a trusted friend or colleague — and the Top Doctors list in this magazine. In this issue, we also profile six of these M.D.s, who tell us a little bit about how and why they got into medicine, and how they manage to stay abreast of all the cutting-edge changes in their specialties. Our cover story starts here.

Also in this issue, we bring you our annual roundup of all the fairs and festivals that make summer in the Hudson Valley so much fun. It seems that every year there is more to see and do in our neck of the woods. If you’re lucky, you have the whole summer off and can check many of these events off your summer fun to-do list. But, if you are like the rest of us, you need to carefully pick and choose.

Luckily, we make this easy for you by highlighting what you really need to know. For instance, I was happy to see that the Shadowlands Theatre is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Not that you need a reason to head up to this vibrant little playhouse in Ellenville; but if you do go, you’ll quickly realize why they’ve been successful for three decades. As we note, this is “city-quality theater nowhere near Manhattan.” This month, I’d also like to catch The Music Man at the Mac-Haydn Theatre in Chatham. I was in a production of this rollicking musical in eighth grade, and while I still remember most of the lyrics to the perennially catchy songs, I have to admit that I can’t remember the three lines I had to say. This theater-in-the-round is a great place to get up close and personal with the actors, and who knows — you may catch a rising star, as the likes of Nathan Lane have previously graced this summertime stage.

And don’t forget the county fairs! From pig races to talent shows to thrill rides to those super thick milk shakes from the 4-H snack stand at the Dutchess County Fair (and yes, it is absolutely worth waiting on that long line), these old-fashioned fairs never go out of style.

This month, we also sampled many of the local artisanal granola flavors that have been popping up all over the place. Most of them are handmade and baked in small batches — and they simply do not compare to commercial brands that you may have grown up with. We get to try quite a range of food items here at the magazine, but for some reason, this granola tasting threw many of us over the edge. (All right, perhaps it was mainly me who went a little nuts with bag upon bag upon bag of these delicious, nutty, crunchy, chewy, coconut-y concoctions lying around the office — although I am not the only who squirreled away a bag or two in my desk drawer.) Click here to find out more about this granola goodness.